


The Vampire and the Succubus

by CybeleEvelysse



Category: Persona 5
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, First Time, Fun, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, Party, Romance, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:42:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27365218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CybeleEvelysse/pseuds/CybeleEvelysse
Summary: "Are you looking for something in particular?" Goro asked, and Ann smiled."A Halloween costume, of course! It's coming up, you know," She responded, beaming with excitement, but Goro just rolled his eyes."What a stupid holiday," He scoffed."What's wrong with Halloween?" Ann questioned. Did he really need to hate every single holiday?Ann teaches Goro how to unwind and have fun for Halloween. Lots of banter back and forth. Friends at first, transforms into romance as the story progresses. Minor appearance from Mishima.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Takamaki Ann
Kudos: 6





	The Vampire and the Succubus

There was nothing quite like the spring of a pretty girl's step as she walked to her favorite destination, heart filled with an almost childlike form of excitement, and autumn leaves crunching beneath her feet. She was on her way to visit someone very special to her, after all, she was on her way to visit the attractive detective whose perfect feathers she loved to ruffle. 

Ann Takamaki caught the eye of so many whenever she passed through Kichijoji on the way to his apartment, boys always longing to have her and girls always long to _be_ her. She had become somewhat of a local celebrity from all of the modeling work that she had done over the past year. Still, she paid none of her onlookers any attention, despite their best efforts. There was only one man in this world who could ever maintain her interest, and his name was Goro Akechi.

It had all started shortly after he was brought back from the dead for the _second_ time. He was always so grouchy, but Ann knew that he was just lonely, so she made it her mission to make him not lonely. He protested, of course, saying things like _I don't even like you_ and _you're so annoying_ , but she threw it right back at him, and called him a dick. That was how they worked. An insult here, a jab there, but it was all in good fun. Goro had his own sort of language, his own way of speaking, and though it took time, Ann had learned how to translate it.

_It's not terrible_ , meant that he liked it, and _it's alright_ , meant that it was amazing. Ann's favorite was _you're such a pain in the ass_ , because it meant, _I fucking love you_ , though he'd never admit to it in non-Goro speak. They hadn't crossed into that territory yet after all, everything was still strictly platonic. Maybe that was why she felt so comfortable. He never stared at her breasts, never made any strange sexual comments, he was just an ass, and that was how she liked him.

The path to Goro's apartment had become so familiar to Ann that she could have walked it in her sleep by now. Most of it was just a straight walk, past all of the trees that were now shedding their leaves, colored with hues of oranges, reds, and yellows. Autumn was Ann's favorite time of year, and she had chosen to draw inspiration from the season when she was picking out her outfit for the day. Her selection consisted of a plaid skirt in autumnal colors, an orange top, chevron lace brown tights, and a pair of tall brown boots. What topped it all off though, and made her look like pure perfection, was a caramel colored coat that looked like it had been stolen straight out of Goro's closet...and it just might have been, but she'd never tell if it was.

A turn here, a step there, a walk across the crosswalk, and Ann was there, at one of the tallest residential buildings in all of Tokyo. She walked inside, past all of the posh people that were going in and out, and got in the elevator. Goro, of course, lived on one of the top floors. He liked being above everyone else, completely unreachable except to those that he chose to let in, though in Ann's case, it was more like she busted the door down rather than being let in. She could be like that sometimes, if she felt that her friend needed her, and Goro definitely needed her, he just didn't know it back then.

It was one of those elevators that played classical music as it ascended the floors, and Ann listened to the orchestra play while she waited for it to take her to her destination. After a few moments, the elevator chimed, and the doors opened to let her out. She walked down the hallway, the sound of her heels muffled against the soft carpet, and made her way to the end where Goro's door was located. Her hand reached up, and she knocked, in the usual songlike manner that she always did to let Goro know that it was her.

It only took a minute for Goro to answer the door, since he was expecting Ann to arrive then. He opened it, saw her, and smiled without really thinking about it. To him, Ann was like a campfire on a cold winter night, illuminating the darkness that surrounded him with radiant warmth, warmth that he felt every time he was near her. If he got too close though, he knew he'd burn himself, so he always maintained a safe distance away from her...a distance that seemed to get smaller and smaller the more time that he spent with her.

Goro was already ready to go, so he didn't waste any time with pleasantries, and instead just stepped out of his apartment to join her, shutting and locking the door behind him. Going with Ann on outings had become routine to him after doing it for nearly a year. "So, where are we off to today, little kitten?" Goro asked, making use of the strange nickname that he had taken to calling her. 

He had started using it as an insult originally, mocking her codename of Panther by saying that she was more like a pathetic little kitten, but she thought it was far too adorable to be an insult and insisted he start calling her it all the time. He wasn't sure why he gave in to her demand, but he did, and now that was what he called her. Little kitten, sometimes pathetic little kitten if he was particularly irritated with her.

"I thought we could go to Harajuku and do some shopping," Ann replied as they started walking together to the elevator.  
"Are you looking for something in particular?" Goro asked, and Ann smiled.  
"A Halloween costume, of course! It's coming up, you know," She responded, beaming with excitement, but Goro just rolled his eyes.  
"What a stupid holiday," He scoffed.  
"What's wrong with Halloween?" Ann questioned. Did he really need to hate every single holiday? She understood why Valentine's Day was a sore subject for him, and she let it go when he refused to celebrate his birthday, but what could really be so bad about Halloween? It was just a fun dress up day.  
"Everything. I'll never understand why people enjoy dressing up and pretending to be something they're not. I spent a good portion of my life doing exactly that, and it isn't fun. If you want to join the masses and party in the streets dressed up like an idiot though, then be my guest." Always so cynical. Well, it didn't matter, Ann would get him to join her whether he wanted to or not.  
"Fine, I will," She replied as they got inside the elevator. Goro pushed the button for the ground floor, and the doors shut, classical music playing overhead as it began its descent. "What do you think I should dress up as?" She knew full well that she was practically begging him to come up with something terrible in response to that, but that was the point.  
"Marie Antoinette," Goro replied, and Ann was left a little confused. That wasn't terrible, why wasn't that terrible?  
"Why Marie Antoinette?" She asked, and Goro smirked.  
"Because I'm so fucking sick of you force feeding me cake all the time that I want to slice your head off just like hers." There it was, the terrible part. It just needed some build-up, that's all. It was fine, in Goro-speak that meant _I really enjoy all of the cake that you bring me even if I'm an asshole about it_ .  
"So, post-guillotine Marie Antoinette then, yeah?" Ann clarified with a smile.  
"Yes," Goro confirmed with another smirk. "Speaking of, that toffee cake you brought the other day wasn't bad. Where did you get it?"  
"Oh, it was from this new bakery that opened up near my house. It's a cute little family owned shop. They make different stuff everyday, so next time I see something I think you'll like, I'll bring it by," Ann responded.  
"You know my preferences, nothing too sweet," Goro reminded her, and she nodded.  
"Of course. I've done pretty well lately, haven't I?" She asked.  
"I suppose," He replied, then the elevator chimed, indicating that they had finally arrived at the ground floor. The doors opened and they stepped out together, then they made their way outside to start their walk to the station.

They passed by the same trees that Ann had passed by earlier, still shedding their leaves, and Goro would look annoyed everytime one bounced off of his head. While he hadn't intended on matching the season, he still somehow managed to just by default due to his natural inclination toward shades of brown, and walking next to Ann, they looked like the perfect model couple. 

The envy oozed off of people as Goro and Ann passed through Kichijoji. Some of them wanted to be them, while others wanted to be with them, but all of them were ignored. Whenever they were together, they existed in a bubble that kept the outside world out. "So, if you did like Halloween," Ann began as she spun around and moved to start walking backwards in front Goro so that she could look at him. "What would you dress up as?"  
"I don't need to dress up as anything. I'm already the most frightening monster in the room," Goro replied, straight faced. Ann wasn't sure if she was meant to laugh or be concerned at that statement. "That was a joke," He clarified when she didn't respond instantly.  
"Jokes are supposed to be funny," Ann stated.  
"Are they? I had no idea. Thank you for providing me with that definition." His voice was absolutely dripping with sarcasm when he said those words.  
"You're very welcome," Ann responded cheerfully, without missing a beat. "I think you should dress up as a vampire."  
"Why?" Goro asked, and just like Ann had known before, he fully understood that he was asking for a terrible response.  
"Because they burn when exposed to light, just like you," She replied.  
"That's...actually fairly accurate." Ann had made a good point. Goro didn't argue with facts.  
"Huh? No witty remark for that one?" She questioned, surprised by him just agreeing with her.  
"Not this time," He replied simply. 

Ann should have stopped walking backwards ages ago, but she hadn't, so she didn't see the step that she was meant to shift her balance for, and lost her footing. She started tumbling down, but she was caught by Goro. It wasn't often that they broke the barriers of physical contact, but now Ann found herself held up by his arms. She looked up at him, seeing what she thought was concern for her shown in his eyes, and for some strange reason, her heart started fluttering like the wings of a hummingbird.

Goro's nose sniffed a little, and his eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Why do you smell like a fucking Starbucks?" He asked, and suddenly all of the anxiety in Ann's heart was gone. She wriggled out of his embrace, and returned to her spot beside him to continue their journey.  
"It's season appropriate," She replied as they started walking again. She always changed her perfume with the seasons, and much to Goro's annoyance, they were all sickeningly sweet. For autumn, she had chosen to wear a pumpkin spice scent.  
"What happened to the orange one? That one wasn't as terrible as all of your other scents," Goro remarked.  
"That was my summer scent, and it was orange creamsicle, not just plain orange," Ann corrected, and he just rolled his eyes.  
"Whatever, it just smelled like a slightly sweeter version of orange to me," Goro responded dismissively. 

They reached the station then, and boarded the train to Harajuku. It was crowded, like it always was midday on a Sunday, but crowds never bothered Goro or Ann that much. Eventually they arrived at Harajuku and started browsing the stores for costumes. Given how close Halloween was, many of the costumes were already sold out, but Ann had a solution. There was a hidden gem of a shop down an alleyway that most of the non-locals didn't know about, and they still had a good amount of inventory left.

Ann knew what she was looking for, and when she found it in Goro's size, she was pleased. She hadn't been joking earlier about him being a vampire, and the costume that the shop had was exactly what she wanted. "Hey, Goro, how about this one?" She called out. He was across the shop, looking at the replica weapons. When she called out his name, he turned to see her holding up the vampire costume for him.  
"I'm not wearing that," He stated. "I thought we were shopping for you?"  
"Oh, I already have my costume. We're shopping for you," Ann responded.  
"I already told you, I'm not dressing up for Halloween," He insisted. Ann decided to move closer to him then and brought the costume along with her.  
"Yes you are. You're going out with me. It's your job to make sure I return home safely after a night of partying," She informed him.  
"This isn't one of your sketchy model parties. You don't need me to keep you safe," Goro responded. He'd gone with Ann to a few parties that were supposed to be for networking, but were really just a bunch of adults getting drunk and hitting on models. There were times when she had to make an appearance, for the sake of her career, but she always made sure that she had Goro along with her. He was ruthless, he would never let anyone come within a few feet of her, so she always felt safe if he was there.  
"I'd argue that this is even more sketchy than one of my model parties. I mean, it's a bunch of people I don't know, all in costumes, partying out in the streets...anything could happen..." It was a gamble trying to play on Goro's strange desire to protect Ann from the dangers of society, but she thought it would work. Goro's history meant that the idea of a lecherous man going anywhere near Ann put him on edge. She was his dear friend, after all, even if he didn't like to openly admit that he cared about her.  
"You could just not go. There's no benefit to going as there is with your model events, though I'd argue those serve little benefit as well," Goro reasoned.  
"But it's Halloween. Come on, Goro, please, pretty please, with sugar and whipped cream and chocolate syrup and a cherry on top?" Ann begged, as cutely as she could manage. Goro crossed his arms, and let out an exasperated sigh.  
"Fine, if it'll stop your incessant whining, I'll go with you, you pathetic little kitten." He had to make sure she knew that he was looking down on her for it with the addition of the word _pathetic_ . It didn't bother Ann though, it never did. She just smiled happily, and though Goro didn't outwardly show it, he was glad that he could make her happy, even if he would have to endure a street party with a bunch of drunken idiots to do so.  
"Yay! Thank you! I promise, you won't regret it, we're going to have so much fun! Come on, you need to try on your costume," Ann exclaimed as she eagerly grabbed Goro's hand, without thinking too much of it, and dragged him to the fitting room. She shoved the costume into his hands, and he gripped onto it reluctantly, then walked into the fitting room and pulled the curtain across.

Goro got changed into the costume, and looked at himself in the mirror. Something about that costume made him feel comfortable, much in the way that he felt comfortable in his black mask ensemble. Perhaps dressing up wasn't so bad after all, if he was free to wear what suited him rather than what suited others. "How does it fit?" Ann called out from the other side of the curtain. Goro slid the curtain over, and held his arms out as if he were presenting himself. "Wow, dare I say, you actually look handsome."  
"I _am_ handsome," Goro agreed with a cocky smirk. If there was one thing he never felt inadequate about, it was his appearance. His mother was a beautiful woman, and he had inherited most of his features from her rather than his father. He spun around then to show Ann the back of the costume, and she couldn't help but notice how good the pants looked on his butt. She swore he had a better butt than she did, and she was actually somewhat jealous of it.  
"Don't get too cocky, your personality is still absolutely _hideous_ ," Ann retorted as she watched him turn back around to face her.  
"Hence why the detective prince was born. It's good to be aware of your weaknesses. You should try acknowledging yours once in a while. One day all of that sugar is going to go straight to your thighs, and you'll only have yourself to blame," Goro remarked.  
"That is exactly why I have to live it up now. Sure, maybe one day I'll be a little fat because of it, but I don't think the man that I'm with will even care about that," Ann responded, but it seemed like an odd thing to say when she wasn't even in a relationship with anyone.  
"Last I checked, you don't have a boyfriend," Goro pointed out.  
"No, but I have a Goro, and that's just as good," She stated happily. In many ways, Goro may as well have been her boyfriend. She spent more time with him than she did with anyone else, and she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't attached to him by now.  
"You can't possibly think that I'm going to be your plaything for the rest of your life," Goro scoffed, even though he secretly liked the idea.  
"That is exactly what I think," Ann replied.  
"Has anyone ever diagnosed you with a mental illness? Because I'm fairly certain you have one." _Pot calling the kettle black much_ , Ann thought, but she had a better response to say than that.  
"Yeah, I must, if I think hanging out with you is fun," She retorted.  
"Why are you such a brat?" Goro questioned.  
"Why are you such a jerk?" Ann countered.  
"I don't think your lifespan is long enough to hear all of the reasons why," He replied, and Ann remembered the mission that she had given herself. She wanted Goro to have fun, so much fun that it made up for all of the trauma that he had suffered.  
"It's long enough to make all of the reasons not matter." Had she really meant to say something like _that_ ? That statement almost sounded like something someone would say to their lover...  
"You think so highly of your influence on me," Goro remarked.  
"And why shouldn't I?" Ann asked.  
"Because you're just a pathetic little kitten and your tiny thoughts and feelings have no impact on me whatsoever." Or so he claimed, but his claims had little impact on how he actually acted. The reality was that he often gave in to her every whim, as if he were wrapped around her finger like a piece of yarn tangled around the paw of a kitten.  
"Then why are you wearing a Halloween costume that I picked out to get ready for a party that you don't want to go to?" Ann questioned, and Goro just folded his arms and glared at her.  
"Do you want me to change my mind?" He tried to threaten her with the prospect of it, but she wasn't worried.  
"You won't. You want me to be happy," She responded, so sure of herself, so sure of his affection for her.  
"Preposterous. Try again," Goro said, and Ann knew exactly what the situation called for. It called for Goro-speak.  
"You want me to be utterly miserable, which is why you're torturing me with your presence at the party." She may have said harsh words, but what she was really saying was _you want to make me so happy that you completely forget that you're unhappy_ .  
"That's more accurate," Goro stated, fully satisfied with Ann's fluent Goro-speak. 

The sales associate approached them then. "Um, excuse me, are you finished with the fitting room yet? I have other customers that would like to use it..." She said nervously. It was a tiny shop, so they only had the one, and immediately Ann felt guilty for holding it up for so long.  
"Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't realize how long we'd been in here," Ann replied as Goro quickly shut the curtain and got changed back into his normal attire. After that, he brought the costume up to the register and paid for it.

With the task for the day complete, they left the shop and decided to just spend the rest of the afternoon hanging out together. They wandered around the various shops, and made fun of the ridiculous Halloween costumes that were leftover at them, until it was time to part ways for the evening.

\----------------------------

Halloween arrived, and Ann came knocking on Goro's door once more. Her usual musical knock was a sound that he always looked forward to hearing. He opened the door, and saw her dressed up in a succubus costume, carrying a bag full of makeup and a giant cake box. "I got you a Halloween cake to celebrate the holiday," She informed him as he stared at the box.  
"Halloween isn't really a cake worthy occasion," Goro stated, but Ann just smiled.  
"Every holiday is a cake worthy occasion," She responded. He stepped aside then to let her into his apartment. It wasn't the first time she'd been inside. Sometimes she would stay over after a late night study session with him. He had a big brain, as she would say, and sometimes she required it for help with her exams. The last year of high school was annoyingly difficult, but thanks to Goro, her grades had improved significantly. 

Ann carried the cake into the kitchen, and set it on the counter. Everything in Goro's apartment was clean and minimalistic, which was a stark contrast to her own messy room. Sometimes she got the urge to decorate his apartment, but he always refused to allow her to do that. Maybe one day, she would always think, some color would surely brighten up his world a bit.

Goro was already wearing his costume, but he needed a few final touches before they left. That was where Ann's bag full of makeup came in. A bit of fake blood, and a dash of purple and black to make his perfectly flawless complexion look more tired and less flawless, and he was far more frightening in appearance. The last thing that she pulled out of the bag was a set of colored contacts in bright, blood red, the same color that his eyes turned when he used Call of Chaos on himself. 

"Perfect!" Ann declared once she had finished, pleased with her work. Goro then moved to look in the mirror that he had hung in his hallway.  
"Not bad," He remarked, which was a glowing compliment in Goro-speak.  
"I'm so glad you like it. It's getting dark out now, do you want to head out to the party?" She asked as Goro returned to the living room.  
"What about the cake?" He kind of wanted to try it.  
"Oh, we can have it when we get back," Ann replied.  
"I take it that means you're staying over?" Goro surmised.  
"Well, we're going to be out late, so it'd be a pain for me to get back home. It's fine with you, right?" Ann's parents were never home, so no one missed her if she didn't return in the evenings.  
"It's not an issue. I just didn't know what your plans were," He replied. He never had any reason to not let her stay over. One of the perks of living in a fancier apartment was that he had a spare bedroom, so she always just slept in there, a comfortable distance away from him just as he preferred.  
"Okay, cool. Well, let's get going then."

It was the night of the dead, and yet everyone was so alive. The streets were packed with people all dressed in costumes, partying and taking photos. Music could be heard blasting from somewhere, though they weren't sure exactly where. All of this happened every year, but Goro had never taken part in it before, choosing instead to remain inside of his apartment and have a quiet evening in. He always insisted that he wouldn't be caught dead participating in such a ridiculous holiday, but all it took was a pretty blonde girl to change his mind.

Goro walked alongside Ann as they made their way through the crowds of people. He should have been looking at everything around him, taking in the sight of the things that he had never seen before, but instead, he kept continually glancing over at Ann. Her long blonde hair had been left down for a change, and it was swishing back and forth as she walked. 

He didn't often acknowledge her beauty, since the way that she was always so dolled up never really appealed to him that much, but seeing her in this monstrous costume, hair down and makeup done in a way that was more artistic than it was perfect, he was forced to acknowledge how truly stunning she was. "Something wrong?" Ann asked when she caught him looking at her. Goro swiftly looked away and focused on what was in front of him.  
"Nothing aside from the usual," He replied.  
"Okay. Well, tonight, you're going to forget about all of that," She told him with certainty. 

They continued to move through the crowd, passing by a group of girls dressed up like zombie nurses. They were trying to get a photograph taken by a man dressed up in...was that a Joker costume? Goro and Ann stopped to take a closer look, and realized that it was Mishima. Of course he would dress up like Joker for Halloween, Goro thought, the man was obsessed with The Phantom Thieves. He was still working on his story about them, and kept pestering all of them with questions every time he hit a roadblock in his writing.

"Mishima, hey!" Ann called out, much to Goro's annoyance. He didn't particularly want to deal with Mishima asking repeated questions about The Phantom Thieves. Luckily, they had never mentioned Goro's involvement in the palace heists, so he never had to worry about getting asked about that, but he did get questions regarding his actions as the detective prince. 

Mishima snapped the photo of the girls, and handed the phone back to them. Then he brought his gaze over to Ann. "Hey! Takamaki-san! Akechi-san!" He greeted them as he weaved through the people walking by on the street to get to them. "I wasn't expecting to see you here. Are you guys on a...date?" The idea of Goro and Ann together seemed incredibly strange to him given what he knew of their histories, but he was trying very hard to not be judgemental about it.  
"No, we're just friends," Ann replied. _Don't ask about the story, don't ask about the story, don't ask about the story,_ Goro repeated that phrase over and over in his head, but it did no good. "How goes the writing?" She asked, and Goro wanted to crush her under the heel of his perfectly polished boot for it.  
"It's going great! I'm on chapter 8, where you guys change the heart of Okumura. I did want to ask you for more details on the black mask that came in afterward though," Mishima replied, not realizing that he was standing before the man himself. 

Before Ann had a chance to respond to Mishima's request for more information, another man dressed in a Skull costume approached them, carrying a case of beer. Goro figured it had to be one of Mishima's friends, since no one else knew enough about what The Phantom Thieves looked like to get a costume as accurate as that one was. "Hey, Mishima, these friends of yours?" He asked.  
"Yeah! Guys, this is my friend, Akiyama. Akiyama, that's Ann Takamaki, and Goro Akechi," Mishima replied, introducing everyone to each other.  
"I think I remember seeing you on TV last year. Detective prince, right?" Akiyama asked Goro.  
"Right," Goro responded simply. He didn't really want to talk about any of that. Tonight was meant to be a night of forgetting the past, not reliving it.  
"Cool..." Akiyama mumbled. Well, this was awkward, he thought. Goro had completely killed the conversation. "Uh, you guys want a beer? There's no way Mishima and I are going to get through this entire case tonight."  
"No," Goro replied, but Ann chimed in at the same time to say, "Yes please!"

Akiyama opened the case, and handed Ann a bottle. Then he attempted to hand Goro one, but Goro just stared at it without doing anything, so Ann took it instead. "Thanks!" She said with a smile. Goro wasn't sure why she took the extra bottle. Him and drinking would be a recipe for disaster, of that much he was certain. 

They stayed and listened to Mishima ramble on and on about his story for a while, before Goro finally got so sick of listening to him that he decided to just walk off without even saying anything at all. Not wanting to lose him in the crowd, Ann bid a very confused Mishima and Akiyama farewell, then started chasing after him. 

"Hey, wait! You can't just walk away from people when they're in the middle of talking to you," Ann called out as she caught up to Goro.  
"We both know if I hadn't, we would have been standing there the entire night listening to him," Goro replied.  
"Yeah, I know, but still..." Ann felt a little guilty about being so rude to Mishima and Akiyama.  
"I came to this party to spend time with you, not Mishima," Goro stated, being completely honest. "Aside from that, you told me I would forget about the past tonight, and all he wanted to do was bring it up constantly. You think I like discussing my failures?"  
"No, of course not. Let's just have fun together from here on out. No more Mishima, no more Phantom Thieves, just you and me, having a good time. How does that sound?" Ann asked.  
"That sounds alright," He replied, and she smiled, for she knew exactly what that meant in Goro-speak. It meant that it sounded amazing to him.

Ann held out the beer bottle for Goro, and he stared at it once more. "Let's really cut loose tonight," She told him.  
"Have you suffered some form of head injury? Even you should know that giving me any form of alcohol is likely to result in awful things happening," Goro responded snidely.  
"Just take it," Ann demanded as she wiggled the bottle in front of him. Begrudgingly, he snatched it out of her hand.  
"I don't drink. I don't like not having control," Goro stated.  
"That is exactly why you should, just for tonight. You're with me, you don't need to worry," Ann said, trying to assure him that it was safe for him to not be 100% in control.  
"But what if I say something that offends you?" He argued.  
"How exactly is that any different from normal not-drunk you? You insult me on a daily basis. I'm used to it by now. Just to check though, you don't have any weapons on you, right?" Ann asked with a nervous laugh. Goro narrowed his eyes at her, as if to say _are you serious right now_ .  
"No, of course not," He replied, and Ann removed the caps on each of their drinks.  
"Then we're good. Bottoms up!" 

Perhaps it was a bad idea. Perhaps it was stupid and idiotic, and the action of someone far less responsible and sensible, but Goro did it anyway. He followed Ann's lead, and together they began drinking the beers in their hands. They started walking again after that, taking the occasional sip here and there as they wandered around the streets. 

Somehow being around drunken idiots was far more enjoyable when you yourself were a drunken idiot, and being both lightweights, Ann and Goro were certainly on their way to getting to that point. People were dancing and clumsily tripping over their own feet all around them the more the night went on, and soon they'd follow suit as well. 

"Okay, serious question though," Ann began, the alcohol finally taking effect. "Why is your butt so much better than mine?"  
"I do squats. Here, I'll show you." Goro started to attempt to do a squat right in the middle of the street, but he wound up slipping and falling down on his butt. Ann just laughed uncontrollably at him, and he laughed with her. "I suppose I should be thankful for the extra padding I've built up."  
"Why though, just why?" Ann asked, still laughing. Then she held out her hand for him, offering to help him up.  
"Fangirls want what they want. Every little thing helps with building a loyal following. It worked with you, didn't it?" He said as he took her hand and tried to use her as leverage to get up, but instead of doing that, he wound up just tugging her down with him. She landed on top of him, her face on his chest, and her legs between his. 

Ann lifted her head up to look at Goro, and he seemed a little worried for her at first, but then she just started laughing and he knew she was fine. "I am not your friend just because you have a nice ass," She informed him.  
"Truthfully, I have no idea why you're my friend," Goro stated with honesty, and suddenly he became very aware of the fact that Ann was still sitting in his lap, with her hands on his upper thighs, using his body to hold up her own. She had stopped laughing, and was just staring into his eyes, wobbling slightly from how unsteady she was.  
"Because I love you." Her mouth was moving, but she spoke her words so quietly that Goro couldn't hear her over the music and the crowd.  
"What did you just say?" Goro asked, and Ann started to lean in toward him, face inching closer and closer to his, when all of the sudden some idiot tripped over Goro's feet. They didn't land on either of them, luckily, but they did fall down next to them, which was enough of a distraction for Ann to cease her actions. "Perhaps we shouldn't be sitting in the middle of the street," Goro stated, and they decided to get back up. 

The evening went on, and Ann convinced Goro to dance with her. It didn't take much effort, given how the alcohol had lowered the walls that previously prevented him from just doing what he wanted to do with her. They weren't terribly drunk, just buzzed, but that was enough. Their hands were all over each other, all physical barriers broken down, and Goro could feel the full force of the warmth that he had been avoiding this entire time. That was when he learned, the flame didn't burn him at all, it just made him feel alive.

It was the night of the dead, and for the first time in many years, Goro felt truly alive. He didn't want that feeling to disappear, he didn't want the night to end, but eventually it had to. The party had begun to wind down and it was late, so they decided to head back to his apartment. 

The walk back was a strange experience for Goro. His mind was all over the place, heart racing, thoughts irrational and seemingly absurd to him. He didn't know how to control himself anymore. How had he forgotten how to control himself? He was just so _uncomfortable_ , so very uncomfortable with the distance between them, or was it the lack of distance? He wasn't sure anymore.

The pathways in Kichijoji were mostly empty, aside from a few other people in costumes who were also on their way home from the Halloween festivities. Goro wasn't sure he had ever seen the area so quiet, so calm. Gone were the onlookers who always stared at Ann as they walked by, desiring to have her. At this particular hour, the only one desiring to have her _was him_.

"This was so much fun. Do you want to go again next year?" Ann asked, filled with excitement. She was in such a good mood after the evening they'd had together.  
"Maybe," Goro replied. He didn't want to give a definitive answer just yet. It was a year away, after all.  
"Oh come on, you looked like you were having so much fun. I even heard you laugh, genuinely laugh. You love spending time with me, stop denying it so much." His gaze shifted to the ground and he smiled, head filled with visions of her dancing in his arms, then he looked back up again to focus on where they were going.  
"I'm not denying it. I had fun," Goro responded, and Ann was a little surprised.  
"You're actually admitting it? Wow, I must have done a number on you tonight," She remarked with a chuckle.   
"You did give me alcohol," He reminded her.  
"Yes, I did, and see, it all turned out fine. We're not shit faced drunk, and you're not any more of an ass than you usually are." Huh, everything was fine, Goro thought, everything was perfectly fine. How did that always happen with Ann? He'd be so against everything that she suggested, but then he'd give in and it would always be fine. Better than fine actually, it would be _fun_ .  
"I knew it would be. That was why I chose to drink with you in the first place. You've proven to me that while I may never be ready for the things that you throw at me, as long as I'm with you, it'll always be fine. I've learned that I can trust you." That was more honest than he was intending to be, but the words just flowed out of his mouth with nothing to stop them. Control, he couldn't remember how to control himself.  
"I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me," Ann commented, and Goro tried desperately to come up with a response that would justify it, but nothing came to him.  
"Don't get used to it, or maybe you should. I'm not entirely sure anymore." Everything in his head was jumbled, as if she had gotten inside and redecorated the entirety of his mind and now he couldn't find anything. All of it was there, it just wasn't where it should be, and he kept pulling out the wrong things as a result, or were they the right things? Control, he needed to find his control. Where had it gone? Where did she put it?  
"I'll probably never get an honest answer out of you if I don't ask this now, so I'm going to just go ahead and ask...how do you feel about me, Goro?" Ann asked, and all Goro could do was wonder that same question himself. How did he feel about her?  
"I hate you." It was like an automatic reaction for him, but that wasn't really how he felt, that wasn't really what he was saying.  
"Awww, Goro, I hate you too," Ann responded with a slight tone of condescension, which fueled his automatic responses even more. At least those were all in the same place in his mind, he thought.  
"You are the most fucking annoying person I have ever come across in my entire life. You're pushy, you think you're smarter than you actually are, and you're a downright bitch toward me at times....but admittedly, I deserve it. You call me on my shit, and that irritates me, because I think sometimes you see more than I want you to."  
"What don't you want me to see?" Control, where was his fucking control? He had dug through every drawer in his mind, every closet, even searched the couch cushions, and still nothing. Where the fuck did she put it?  
"That I'm so fucking sick of being alone. I hate it. I've always hated it. I've learned to deal with it because no one has ever wanted me around, but all I have ever wanted is for someone to love me, the real me. I'm desperate for it, so desperate that I push everyone away just so that I don't have to feel the inevitable rejection when someone doesn't. The only person I can't seem to get rid of is you, and I'm not sure if that's because you care or because I'm just some charity case to you." It was just gone. His control was just gone. She had taken it, the thieving bitch. She had taken it and hidden it somewhere that he would never find it, all because she wanted him to tell her how he felt. What good did that do? It never changed reality before, why would it now?

They had gone past all of the autumn trees by then, and were approaching Goro's apartment building. "You're not a charity case, Goro, and I'm honestly super confused as to why you would even think that. Sure, on the outside, you're an ass, but you're right, I do see more than what you want me to see. I see that you're actually an incredibly smart, witty, and caring person underneath all of that. How many times have you done something that you didn't want to now, just to make me happy? How many late nights have you stayed up tutoring me? This may have started out as me just wanting to be your friend and trying to get you to have some fun for once in your life, but...I think it's far more than that now."

They entered the apartment building, and Ann pressed the button to call the elevator down. "What are you saying?" Goro asked. He'd never heard such kind words spoken to him before. He didn't know how to respond.

The elevator arrived, and they got in, classical music playing overhead. Was that Clair De Lune? Goro enjoyed that piece, it put his mind at ease. The doors shut, and he pushed the button for his floor. "I'm saying I'm in love with you, Goro Akechi," Ann told him, voice soft. Had his ears been deceiving him? He thought that she just said that she loved him, but that couldn't be right. Nobody loved him. Nobody ever would. He had to be hearing things. It was the alcohol, that had to be it, he thought, not realizing that the small amount they had wore off ages ago.  
"What did you just say?" Deja vu, had this happened earlier? He wasn't sure. Ann moved then to stand in front of him, so close that he felt uncomfortable so he took a step back automatically, but she followed him. She trapped him with her arms, placing one hand on each side of him on the wall, and leaned into him.  
"I said I love you," She repeated herself, and this time, he knew that he hadn't misheard her. "And I promise, I'll never leave you alone again, no matter how many times you tell me to go away. You're stuck with me now." Somehow, being stuck with someone had never sounded better to Goro. It was exactly what he had always wanted, for someone to stay with him no matter what, and for them to love him unconditionally. Was she really offering all of that to him?  
"Are you saying you...want me?" He questioned apprehensively. The very idea of it was so foreign to him.  
"That is exactly what I'm saying. I want your handsome face, your nice ass, and your _hideous_ personality, the total package. I want you, I want Goro Akechi. Now, be honest with me, do you want me too?" What a stupid question, Goro thought.  
"More than anything," He replied, and that was when he ceased his search for his control completely. He let himself do exactly what he wanted to, and he grabbed onto her, placing a hand behind her waist, and a hand behind her head to pull her toward him. Then he kissed her, passionately, pouring every feeling that he had held back for so long into it. Her hands slid off of the wall and found their way onto his shoulders, and they stayed like that until the elevator chimed, indicating that they had arrived on Goro's floor.

Ann pulled back from him a bit, and he noticed something. She smelled like orange tonight, not pumpkin spice. Why was that? She then grabbed onto Goro's hand, and led him out of the elevator toward his door. "You smell like orange creamsicle," He stated, making sure he got the name of the fragrance correct, and she turned her head to look back at him and smiled.  
"You said you liked it better. Your opinion matters to me, you know," She replied, and Goro could barely believe what he was hearing. He _mattered_ to someone, someone other than Akira. His thoughts, his feelings, they actually mattered to her. It was such a small, stupid, insignifant change, but somehow that small change meant the world to him, because it meant that she chose his preference over her own.

They reached the door to Goro's apartment, and he pulled out his keys and unlocked it, with Ann hanging onto his shoulder the entire time. Then they went inside together, and shut the door behind them. Ann eagerly moved toward the kitchen to get the cake that she had brought over earlier. "And let them eat cake!" She said as she opened the box. Goro had followed her over, and he peered into the box to see the cake. It was bright orange, and decorated with an adorable Halloween scene filled with ghosts, pumpkins, and black cats. 

Ann stuck her hand into the box, and dragged her finger across the frosting, then wiped it onto the tip of Goro's nose, and giggled. He looked down at it, crossing his eyes to do so, and used his tongue to lick it off, which shocked Ann. "You can do that?! What are you, some kind of super human?" She asked, and he just smirked at her.  
"I can do a lot of things," Goro joked suggestively, and Ann's cheeks flushed slightly. "But really, I just have a slightly smaller than average gap between my nose and my mouth, that's all." Now that he pointed it out, she couldn't unsee it. It wasn't a bad thing, she just couldn't stop staring at it, trying to figure out if that was really why he could do it, so he decided to take some of the frosting on the tip of his finger, and place it on her nose to prove it. He laughed as he watched her desperately struggle to try and lick it off, but her tongue just wouldn't reach that far. 

A normal person would have just wiped it off for her with a napkin, but Goro was anything but normal. Instead, he leaned in and licked it off of her nose for her. She had no idea how to respond to that, so she just stood there and stared at him. All of these strange feelings and urges were arising within him, and he didn't really know what he was and wasn't meant to do. All he knew was that physical boundaries were not something he wanted to acknowledge any longer. 

Goro pressed his lips against Ann's once more, and within moments he had his hands all over her, lifting her up onto the counter and settling himself between her legs. Her arms had wrapped around his neck, hands and fingers threading through the impossibly soft strands of his hair, and her legs locked around his waist. The longer the kiss went on, the more his hands began to wander, inching closer and closer toward her breasts, but never actually touching them. 

After a few minutes, Ann pulled back from Goro, despite the fact that he didn't want her to. He tried to move toward her again, to resume their kiss, but she placed her hands on his chest to prevent him from doing so. "How do you feel about me, Goro?" She asked once more, and he suddenly realized that he hadn't voiced his feelings. He had expressed them through physical means, but he hadn't actually told her. Of course she was holding back, she needed to hear the words first. 

Goro smirked, and ran his finger along the line of her jaw, lifting her head up slightly. "I fucking hate you," He sneered, and Ann's lips curled into a devilish smile befitting her succubus costume.  
"No, you don't," She stated firmly.  
"You're right. I don't," He agreed, then he leaned in, placing his face beside her ear, and whispered, "I love you." Ann felt her heart flutter. She had wanted to hear him say those words for so long, and they sounded like the most beautiful song that she had ever heard when spoken with his voice.  
"It feels like my heart is going to explode," She said as his hand gently moved up and down over her décolleté, then he inched it toward her heart to feel it pound within her chest.  
"Does it? Well, then I'll say it more," Goro responded, taking pleasure in the way that he was making her feel. "I love you." He began by kissing her neck. "I love you." Then he moved up to her cheek. "I love you." And then he gently kissed her lips. "I love you." His breath felt warm on her lips as he spoke, a strange scent mixture of cake and alcohol still lingering.

How could saying three little words feel so good? This feeling, Goro knew what to call it now. Love, he was completely and utterly in love with Ann Takamaki, the woman who had forced her way into his life, and made herself at home in his heart and his mind. She had made him lose his control, but he had finally decided that he didn't need it anymore, because she accepted him, regardless of what he said or did.

Everything inside of him felt like a jumbled mess, and if someone were to look inside, they'd see a sight not dissimilar to Ann's bedroom, but somehow he had never felt more comfortable than he did standing there in that mess. His world wasn't empty anymore, it was jam packed with love and fun and happiness, all because of her.

"I love you too," Ann returned his words, and Goro felt incredible, warmth radiating through every part of his body. Nothing burned, nothing hurt, for the first time, everything just felt _good_ . He gazed into her eyes, and his smile was so sweet and peaceful, unlike any other smile that she had seen before. His hand reached up and caressed her cheek then, thumb gently stroking her petal soft skin.  
"My little kitten," Goro whispered lovingly. How had that nickname transformed into this? It was supposed to be an insult before, but now... "Shall I make you purr?" Ann's cheeks flushed bright pink then, and she shifted so that she could whisper in his ear.  
"I think you'll find that tonight, I'm more like a panther," She murmured provocatively, and Goro took it as a challenge.  
"We'll see about that."

Completely unchained, Goro leaned down and kissed Ann's neck while his hands ravished her body. She tugged his jacket off with little effort, and started unbuttoning his waistcoat while he tossed the horns that she was wearing on her head aside, and unzipped the back of her top. True to his costume, he bit down on her neck and she yelped. It wasn't hard enough to draw blood, but it did leave a bite shaped crimson mark behind. 

Ann finished her work on his waistcoat, and off it went as well, leaving him in just a shirt and trousers. Goro then slipped her top off of her, revealing the vibrant red bra that she was wearing beneath it. Not one to waste any time, he undid the clasp and removed that too, while Ann unbuttoned his shirt and did away with it. 

Her hands started to move toward his pants, when he suddenly stopped and pulled away from her. She looked at him, confused, and watched as he reached over and grabbed a handful of the cake that had been sitting beside them. He then smeared it onto her chest and all over her breasts. She giggled, before returning the favor with her own handful of cake.

Goro bent down, and started licking the cake off of Ann's breasts. He had no idea what kind she had bought, but whatever it was, it was now his favorite flavor. Once he had sufficiently cleaned her up, he stood back up straight, and let her do the same to him as she started undoing his pants. They fell to the floor and he kicked them off. 

Goro decided that he had standards, and he wouldn't fuck Ann on the kitchen counter, so he picked her up, and carried her to his bedroom to finish what they had started together. Pleasuring her was a wonderful experience for him. She was so _vocal_ , and with every touch, every lick, every thrust, she motivated him to do more and more, until finally they were both exhausted. 

By the time they started to fall asleep, it was early morning, and the sky had just started to turn pink from the sun rise. Pale sunlight shined in through the window into Goro's bedroom, and its rays extended just far enough to touch Ann's hair as she lay in his arms. The ethereal glow that it gave made her long blonde hair look like a veil of pure light, sprawled out across his dark blue sheets as if she were illuminating the night sky. 

_Long enough to make all of the reasons not matter, huh? Maybe..._ Goro thought as he tightened his embrace around Ann. He shut his eyes then, and slowly, he drifted off to sleep. 

When Goro opened his eyes the next morning, no, actually, it was afternoon when he finally woke up, he saw Ann leaning over him, smiling, wearing a t-shirt that she had obviously stolen out of one of his drawers. Her hair was an absolute mess, the literal defintion of sex hair, and her makeup was smudged all over her face, black mascara melted around her eyes to create a strange, almost bruised looking effect. "You look like shit," Goro commented, and Ann gave him a condescending smirk.  
"Speak for yourself," She retorted as she stared at his equally smudged makeup. The longer his eyes remained open, the more he realized they were in pain. Why did his eyes hurt? "You kind of scared me when you opened your eyes, honestly. I forgot you still had those contacts on."  
"That explains the pain in my eyes," Goro replied. Immediately, he turned onto his side, and popped the contacts out, allowing them to fall onto his bedside table without a care. It didn't help that much with the pain, but at least his eyes could breathe now. Then he shifted back onto his back. "What are you doing up there? Get down here," He ordered as he reached up and tugged on Ann until her body landed on his chest.

Ann nuzzled her head in the groove of Goro's neck, and he wrapped his arms around her, feeling content and happy to have her so close to him. Why had she been sleeping in the guest room all of this time? He was absolutely certain she belonged in his bed with him now, and he'd never let her sleep anywhere else again. "So what's the verdict? Am I a panther or a kitten?" Ann asked.  
"A kitten," Goro replied with a smirk, and she seemed a little annoyed.  
"Oh come on, I thought for sure that after last night you'd see me as a panther," Ann argued, but Goro just turned his head and kissed her on the forehead.  
"The rest of the world might see you as a panther, but when you're with me, you're my little kitten. My loving, adorable, cuddly, little kitten," He replied, and her cheeks turned bright pink.  
"D-Don't say such sweet things or you'll make me think you're actually a nice person." Goro rolled over onto his side then, and pulled Ann even closer to him, pressing her up against his chest.  
"You made me this way. It's your own fault for making me so happy."  
"All I did was love you," She responded, as if it weren't anything special.  
"That's more than anyone else has ever done for me. I can honestly say that you are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I love you more than anything." This was a side of Goro that Ann had never seen before. She had always believed that deep down this was who he really was, but she never actually thought she'd hear him say things like that out loud to her. She didn't know how to respond.  
"Uh...um...Ditto," Ann replied nervously. It was a stupid response, she knew that, but she truly didn't know what else to say.  
"Did you just...ditto me?" Goro asked as he pulled back from her a bit to look at her.  
"Yes, it means I feel the same way," She answered.  
"I know what it means, but I'm appalled that you used it in response to my declaration of love for you," He replied, and he briefly wondered why he was in love with someone dumb enough to think that ditto was a valid response to what he had said.  
"I-I don't know what to say when you're being nice!" Ann stated in a panic. Goro had never seen her quite this frazzled over the things that he'd said before, and it would have amused him, if only he weren't so annoyed that she had the audacity to say ditto to him.  
"Most people would just say _I love you too_ , not ditto. We aren't playing Pokemon," He informed her, as if she didn't already know that.  
"Maybe we should," She suggested, trying to distract him from the topic at hand.  
"As if you've ever gotten past the fourth gym," Goro remarked snidely.  
"How did you know that?" Ann asked, honestly surprised.  
"I didn't, you just told me. That is truly pathetic though," He criticized, but she refused to just take his criticism lying down.  
"Okay, you and me, match on Pokken, let's go," Ann challenged him. Not one to back down from a challenge, Goro decided to accept.  
"Fine. I'll beat you easily, and when I do, you have to respond to what I said earlier properly," He said, stating his terms.  
"Deal."

They didn't get up right away to play against each other, but when they did, Goro beat Ann just as he expected to. She truly wasn't very good at video games, though she did try her best, and he was the sort of person who needed to be perfect at everything that he did. "So, I believe you owe me a proper response now," Goro stated, and now that Ann actually had time to think about it, she knew just what to say.  
"You are my favorite person in the entire world, and I feel so insanely lucky to have you as my boyfriend. I love you so much, and I want to be with you forever." Her words were spoken from her heart, and he felt them echo in his own. He smiled, genuinely sweet at first, then it turned into more of a smirk when he realized what he wanted to say in response to her words.  
"Ditto." Now Ann knew how it felt to have such a lame response given to such a serious statement, and she was annoyed.  
"How dare you!" She exclaimed, but Goro didn't care. He just moved closer to her on the sofa, and she leaned backwards away from him until her back was pressing against the armrest. He climbed on top of her, and straddled her between his legs. Then he reached up with his hand and stroked her cheek, gently.  
"I love you, my little kitten," Goro said softly, before lowering himself to kiss her. 

They truly were perfect for each other, the perfect model couple, and when they walked down the streets of Kichijoji, holding hands and laughing, everyone around them stared longingly, wishing that they could be them.

**Author's Note:**

> The artwork used in this piece was a commission created for me by yura_s_arts on twitter.


End file.
